Celebrating Three Years: Making an Impact in Central Illinois

In November, our Central Illinois office celebrated three years of growing the Best Buddies mission in the region!

When the office was established, the goal was to support local programming while expanding the reach and awareness of the Best Buddies mission throughout Central Illinois. With more one-to-one friendships and opportunities for students and adults with IDD than ever before, Best Buddies is proving to be unstoppable. The Peoria office now oversees 19 school-based chapters, 24 trained Ambassadors, manages 1,500 active participants, and last year officially launched Best Buddies Middle Schools!

Over the next three years, they will be working to launch Best Buddies Citizens which would provide opportunities for one-to-one friendships for members of the community who are 21+, ensuring the gift of friendship won’t end when students graduate from high school or college.

We want to THANK YOU for making the last three years possible and invite you to join us in making the next three even better! To become a part of the growth in Central Illinois, contact Area Director, Jamie Davis today.

Natalie is a senior at Dunlap High School. This fall will be here fourth year in Dunlap’s Best Buddies school friendship program. Unlike many other students Natalie joined Best Buddies for a different reason. "I joined Best Buddies because of my younger brother. My brother has a disability and I wanted to be friends with people like him because he’s awesome."

I am more selfless because of Best Buddies, and I have so many life-long friends because of Best Buddies. In fact, one of the student leaders was a bridesmaid in my wedding. I love all of the buddies and college buddies.